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Hey! I'm Beth, the DC-based blogger behind Beth's Journey. I write about all things weight loss, healthy living, and Weight Watchers and am currently on a mission to get back to Lifetime! I hope you find inspiration, ideas, and recipes as you browse. Thanks for stopping by!

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Every January, Weight Watchers releases a new innovation on the program and for January 2014, it’s called, “Simple Start”. The way Simple Start works is it’s a two week program designed to get you eating the right foods without having to weigh or measure everything you eat. There are a list of allowable Power Foods that you can pick and choose from, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nonfat dairy, lean proteins, and some extras. If you stick to picking foods from that list and pay attention to your hunger signals, you don’t have to portion everything out. On top of those “safe” foods that you can eat from, you get 7 extra points per day for treats (aka 2 <tiny> glasses of wine if you’re me). I love that you don’t have to weight and measure everything because it’s a great way to get back into the swing of things and not feel too overwhelmed, especially if you’re new to the program.

You’ll notice this sounds veeeeery similar to the Simply Filling Technique, and it is. The main difference is, instead of using the 49 weekly points however you want (all at once, divided between a few events during a given week, or spread out however you like), they recommend spreading them out evenly during the two week Simple Start program and using 7 per day.

Since the Beth’s Journey DietBet starts today, I decided to give it a try this week (and maybe next) to see how it goes, though I’ve not been able to stick with the Simply Filling Technique before, so we’ll see what happens!

Here’s the menu plan I came up with for the week:

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snack

Monday

Eggs sandwich with ham on a sandwich thin

English muffin w/turkey + cheese, broiled with grapefruit on the side

Turkey chili w/sour cream + radishes for crunch

shredded wheat w/banana + skim milk

Tuesday

Greek yogurt w/shredded wheat + blueberries

turkey chili w/sour cream + radishes

Grilled chicken thighs w/homemade tzatziki + roasted sweet potato

cottage cheese + grapefruit

Wednesday

English muffin w/ cottage cheese + grapefruit

chicken thighs w/tzatziki over salad with cucumbers + tomatoes

Roasted chickpeas + eggplant w/brown rice

greek yogurt w/mashed banana

Thursday

Veggie egg scramble w/toasted english muffin

roasted chickpeas + eggplant over greens

turkey chili w/radishes + cheese

air popped popcorn + grapefruit

Friday

Cottage Cheese w/blueberries + shredded wheat

turkey sandwich on sandwich thin with sprouts, popcorn + blueberries

TBD

smoothie w/skim milk, banana, berries, and raw oatmeal

And, in looking back at last week’s goals:

Workout 3x+ this week. I only went back to the gym twice, and my goal was to go for 20+ minutes because right now I’m focusing on getting back into the habit of working out. I went twice, and ran for 25 and 30 minutes each time. I also did a walk outside on Saturday for 2.5 miles, but I really wanted to get to the gym 3x, so I’m going to make this another goal.

Eat out only once this week. Done! I ate out Thursday Night for restaurant week, and then managed to bring breakfast and lunch to work, and make dinner every other night. Woohoo!

Limit to 2 glasses of wine. I had a few more than two one night of the weekend, but other than that I limited drinking to twice a week.

Drink 3+ glasses of water during the day. Nope. I definitely drank more water than normal, but I need to keep working on it.

Get in bed by 11pm every day. I was in bed by 11pm a few nights last week, but this is another thing I need to focus on.

So, with that said, here are my goals for this week:

Workout 3x+ this week. I went on a 4.5 mile walk yesterday, so one down already!

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25 Comments on Weight Watchers Simple Start

Mari

January 21, 2014 at 2:03 pm (5 years ago)

I’m trying to work on getting enough sleep as well. I just started teaching elementary school and as a newbie I’m overwhelmed with work. I barely have any free time, which has a big impact on my weight loss. No workouts, no time to eat which results in cravings, etc. … But getting only 4 to 5 hours of sleep turns me into a cranky and mean monster, so that’ll be my priority for now. Good luck with your goals and thanks for sharing 🙂

Wow you seem to have it all figured out. Good luck and hope it worked out for you. Keep us all in the loop.
The one thing I need to focus on is getting enough sleep because it ties in with being able to get my butt to the gym! I go in the morning.

I’m trying to work out 5 days. Today I’ll have to work out during the kids’ quiet time. Tomorrow I will too, as #7of8 has to go to the hospital for a checkup early in the morning. That appointment will probably impact my next week or month, depending on if they decide to do surgery again.

The other big thing I’m working on is emotional eating – trying to avoid it. I eat when I get mad and when I get stressed. Stress is pretty much a constant companion here so it has been a challenge. So far I’m remembering to Stop before I eat, Challenge why I’m eating and if it is for anything other than hunger, to Choose to do something else to manage those emotions.

Beth

March 11, 2014 at 11:09 pm (4 years ago)

Hey Summer! I kind of hate that fat-free dairy is considered to be a power food if I’m being totally honest. I do use skim milk usually anyway, but the fat free cheese is definitely something I struggle with. I wasn’t able to stick to it for too long.

Great post Beth!
I am trying really hard to concentrate on getting rid of one bad habit and replacing it with a good habit. Being from the south, I have had a habit of drinking “sweet tea” my whole adult life. I am changing to water. Ice cold water. It has been hard but I’m determined to wean myself off of the sweet tea. I will do it!!

Beth

Hey Beth, I love reading success stories and yours is no different. I’m not sure if this will help you or not, but when I cut dairy out of my diet, I lost 10+ pounds in a week (it was causing a bunch of inflammation). Just thought that might help!

If you want to see ramp up your weight loss efforts, bump up your water intake. 3 glasses a day is not doing you justice. Try drinking 2 L of water a day. For more information, check out The Power of Your Metabolism by Frank Suarez.

You’ll notice this sounds veeeeery similar to the Simply Filling Technique, and it is. The main difference is, instead of using the 49 weekly points however you want (all at once, divided between a few events during a given week, or spread out however you like), they recommend spreading them out evenly during the two week Simple Start program and using 7 per day.

I also use a calorie tracker. I think its a terrific motivator. Love your blog. You’re an inspiration. I only recently started blogging about my journey. I’ve got 170lbs to lose. So many of us on this same journey. 🙂
Lori

Karen

Robin

April 23, 2014 at 6:52 pm (4 years ago)

good for you , I’ve lost 60, gained 25, back down 17.5. Its a journey but its worth it. I just wanted to encourage you to go for it and don’t sweat the small stuff. Let yourself indulge, don’t deprive and try to move as much as you can. You can do it!